Visitation tracking system

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a system to facilitate the identification of geo-cells, and the distribution of media content. A visitation tracking system is configured to retrieve location data from a client device, identify a geo-cell from among a set of geo-cells based on the location data, access a database that comprises media content associated with one or more physical location within the geo-cell, ranking a first media content among the media content, and loading the first media content at the client device based on the ranking, according to certain example embodiments.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/189,721, filed Nov. 13, 2018,which application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/956,073, filed on Apr. 18, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,219,111, filedFeb. 26, 2019, which applications are hereby incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to computingtechnology and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, tosystems for determining a location of a client device for the purposesof sharing media content.

BACKGROUND

Geo-fencing is a service that triggers an action when a device enters apredefined location. For example, the action may include the delivery ofmedia content, coupons, notifications, engagement features, and securityalerts. The geo-fence itself may be described as a virtual perimeter fora real-world geographic area, wherein the geo-fence may be dynamicallygenerated, or predefined as a set of boundaries.

Current geo-fencing systems are only as accurate as the location dataretrieved from a device. For example, location data retrieved throughWiFi may have a higher degree of accuracy and precision than locationdata retrieved through cell triangulation. As a result, these systemsare often unable to identify the most relevant geo-fence in a geographicarea.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, themost significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to thefigure number in which that element is first introduced.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a networkin accordance with some embodiments, wherein the messaging systemincludes a visitation tracking system.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding amessaging system, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating various modules of a visitationtracking system, according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for selecting a geo-fenceand loading media content at a client device, according to certainexample embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method selecting a geo-cell,according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for loading media content ata client device, according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of location data retrieved from a clientdevice, according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a geo-cell, according to certain exampleembodiments.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a ranking of locations associated with ageo-cell, according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a representative softwarearchitecture, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described and used to implement variousembodiments.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, systems for triggering action based on a location ofa client device are only as accurate as location data retrieved from theclient device. For example, WiFi data may provide a far more accurateindication of a location of a client device than cell towertriangulation. As a result, existing geo-fencing systems often have asuboptimal level of precision.

One aspect of the disclosure provides a system to facilitate theidentification of geo-cells and the distribution of media content. Avisitation tracking system is configured to retrieve location data froma client device, identify a geo-cell from among a set of geo-cells basedon the location data, access a database that comprises media contentassociated with one or more physical locations within the geo-cell,ranking a first media content among the media content, and loading thefirst media content at the client device based on the ranking, accordingto certain example embodiments.

To accurately identify the geo-cell from among the set of geo-cells, thevisitation tracking system assigns a time-stamp to location dataretrieved from the client device, and calculates a period of time (aduration) that the client device was at a particular location. In someembodiments, the visitation tracking system selects the geo-cell fromamong the set of geo-cells based on the duration. For example, thevisitation tracking system may select the geo-cell corresponding to thegreatest duration spent within the geo-cell by the client device.

In some embodiments, the visitation tracking system retrieves locationdata from the client device in response to receiving a request or userinput at the client device. For example, the request or user input mayinclude a request to launch an application executed at the clientdevice, or perform one or more functions of the application. In responseto receiving the request or user input, the visitation tracking systemretrieves location data from the client device, wherein the locationdata may include WiFi data, GPS data, beacon data, cell triangulationdata, an IP address, or an explicit user input that defines a locationof the client device (e.g., a check-in).

The geo-cell may be associated with a number of physical locations at adatabase, wherein each physical location has corresponding media contentassociated with it. For example, a location within the geo-cell may havean associated media filter that is only accessible to users that enter aboundary of the geo-cell. As discussed above, a common issue withsimilar systems is a lack of control in an ability to accurately targetand make such media content available, as many geo-cells often containmultiple locations, wherein each location has its own associated mediacontent.

In response to identifying the geo-cell, the visitation tracking systemranks each location associated with the geo-cell at the database basedon criteria that includes user profile data, client device attributes,location data attributes, geo-cell attributes, and location attributesof the location identified by the geo-cell. For example, in someembodiments, the visitation tracking system retrieves criteria inresponse to identifying the geo-cell, wherein the criteria includes:user profile data (e.g., historical location data that identifieslocations visited by the user and other users associated to the userprofile of the user, as well as user affinities that identify locationsof interest to the user); a current time and a business hour associatedwith one or more locations within the geo-cell; as well as a popularityof each media content associated with the geo-cell. The visitationtracking system ranks the locations associated with the geo-cell withinthe database based on the retrieved criteria.

In response to ranking the media content within the database, thevisitation tracking system retrieves a first media object based on theranking of its corresponding location within the database. For example,the first media object may be associated with the highest rankedlocation from among the locations associated with the geo-cell, based onthe ranking criteria applied by the visitation tracking system. Thevisitation tracking system loads the first media object from among themedia content at the client device.

The media content may be distributed the client device, and in responsethe client device may cause display of a notification alerting a user ofthe media content. The media content may thereby be presented to theuser at the client device via an ephemeral message, or may be applied toa message or ephemeral message by the user and shared with one or moreclient devices.

Consider an illustrative example to describe a specific application ofthe visitation tracking system. A user of a client device launches anapplication executed at the client device and executes one or more userrequests. For example, the user may be riding in a car to a destinationand provides the one or more user requests as they are riding along. Thevisitation tracking system retrieves whatever location data may beavailable at any given time in response to each of the one or morerequests. Thus, as the user is riding along a path to a destination, thevisitation tracking system retrieves location data that identifies alocation of the client device at any given time along the drive. Asdiscussed above, the visitation tracking system may additionally assigntime-stamps to the location data.

Based on the location data and the time-stamps of the location data, thevisitation tracking system identifies one or more geo-cells that theuser entered, and calculates a period of time that the user was withineach of the geo-cells, based on the time-stamps. The visitation trackingsystem may then select a geo-cell from among a set of geo-cells based onthe duration.

Having selected one or more geo-cells, the visitation tracking systemaccesses a database to identify locations associated with the one ormore geo-cells, and ranks the locations based on ranking criteria thatinclude user profile data of the user, as well as location criteria ofthe locations within the one or more geo-cells. For example, the userprofile data may indicate that the user has visited “Location A,”wherein Location A is located within a first geo-cell among the one ormore geo-cells, multiple times over a period of time, but has notvisited any other location within the geo-cells. Further, Location A mayhave associated business hours that indicate that the location iscurrently open for business. Based on such information, the visitationtracking system ranks Location A among the set of locations associatedwith the geo-cell. For purposes of explanation, assuming Location A isranked highest among the set of locations, the media content associatedwith Location A may thereby be loaded at the client device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network.The messaging system 100 includes multiple client devices 102, each ofwhich hosts a number of applications including a messaging clientapplication 104. Each messaging client application 104 iscommunicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging clientapplication 104 and a messaging server system 108 via a network 106(e.g., the Internet).

Accordingly, each messaging client application 104 is able tocommunicate and exchange data with another messaging client application104 and with the messaging server system 108 via the network 106. Thedata exchanged between messaging client applications 104, and between amessaging client application 104 and the messaging server system 108,includes functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well aspayload data (e.g., text, audio, video or other multimedia data).

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality viathe network 106 to a particular messaging client application 104. Whilecertain functions of the messaging system 100 are described herein asbeing performed by either a messaging client application 104 or by themessaging server system 108, it will be appreciated that the location ofcertain functionality either within the messaging client application 104or the messaging server system 108 is a design choice. For example, itmay be technically preferable to initially deploy certain technology andfunctionality within the messaging server system 108, but to latermigrate this technology and functionality to the messaging clientapplication 104 where a client device 102 has a sufficient processingcapacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operationsthat are provided to the messaging client application 104. Suchoperations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, andprocessing data generated by the messaging client application 104. Insome embodiments, this data includes, message content, client deviceinformation, geolocation information, media annotation and overlays,message content persistence conditions, social network information, andlive event information, as examples. In other embodiments, other data isused. Data exchanges within the messaging system 100 are invoked andcontrolled through functions available via GUIs of the messaging clientapplication 104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, anApplication Program Interface (API) server 110 is coupled to, andprovides a programmatic interface to, an application server 112. Theapplication server 112 is communicatively coupled to a database server118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which is stored dataassociated with messages processed by the application server 112.

Dealing specifically with the Application Program Interface (API) server110, this server receives and transmits message data (e.g., commands andmessage payloads) between the client device 102 and the applicationserver 112. Specifically, the Application Program Interface (API) server110 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that canbe called or queried by the messaging client application 104 in order toinvoke functionality of the application server 112. The ApplicationProgram Interface (API) server 110 exposes various functions supportedby the application server 112, including account registration, loginfunctionality, the sending of messages, via the application server 112,from a particular messaging client application 104 to another messagingclient application 104, the sending of media files (e.g., images orvideo) from a messaging client application 104 to the messaging serverapplication 114, and for possible access by another messaging clientapplication 104, the setting of a collection of media data (e.g.,story), the retrieval of a list of friends of a user of a client device102, the retrieval of such collections, the retrieval of messages andcontent, the adding and deletion of friends to a social graph, thelocation of friends within a social graph, opening and application event(e.g., relating to the messaging client application 104).

The application server 112 hosts a number of applications andsubsystems, including a messaging server application 114, an imageprocessing system 116, a social network system 122, and a visitationtracking system 124. The messaging server application 114 implements anumber of message processing technologies and functions, particularlyrelated to the aggregation and other processing of content (e.g.,textual and multimedia content) included in messages received frommultiple instances of the messaging client application 104. As will bedescribed in further detail, the text and media content from multiplesources may be aggregated into collections of content (e.g., calledstories or galleries). These collections are then made available, by themessaging server application 114, to the messaging client application104. Other processor and memory intensive processing of data may also beperformed server-side by the messaging server application 114, in viewof the hardware requirements for such processing.

The application server 112 also includes an image processing system 116that is dedicated to performing various image processing operations,typically with respect to images or video received within the payload ofa message at the messaging server application 114.

The social network system 122 supports various social networkingfunctions services, and makes these functions and services available tothe messaging server application 114. To this end, the social networksystem 122 maintains and accesses an entity graph 304 within thedatabase 120. Examples of functions and services supported by the socialnetwork system 122 include the identification of other users of themessaging system 100 with which a particular user has relationships oris “following,” and also the identification of other entities andinterests of a particular user.

The application server 112 is communicatively coupled to a databaseserver 118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which isstored data associated with messages processed by the messaging serverapplication 114.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding themessaging system 100, according to example embodiments. Specifically,the messaging system 100 is shown to comprise the messaging clientapplication 104 and the application server 112, which in turn embody anumber of some subsystems, namely an ephemeral timer system 202, acollection management system 204 and an annotation system 206.

The ephemeral timer system 202 is responsible for enforcing thetemporary access to content permitted by the messaging clientapplication 104 and the messaging server application 114. To this end,the ephemeral timer system 202 incorporates a number of timers that,based on duration and display parameters associated with a message,collection of messages, or graphical element, selectively display andenable access to messages and associated content via the messagingclient application 104. Further details regarding the operation of theephemeral timer system 202 are provided below.

The collection management system 204 is responsible for managingcollections of media (e.g., collections of text, image video and audiodata). In some examples, a collection of content (e.g., messages,including images, video, text and audio) may be organized into an “eventgallery” or an “event story.” Such a collection may be made availablefor a specified time period, such as the duration of an event to whichthe content relates. For example, content relating to a music concertmay be made available as a “story” for the duration of that musicconcert. The collection management system 204 may also be responsiblefor publishing an icon that provides notification of the existence of aparticular collection to the user interface of the messaging clientapplication 104.

The collection management system 204 furthermore includes a curationinterface 208 that allows a collection manager to manage and curate aparticular collection of content. For example, the curation interface208 enables an event organizer to curate a collection of contentrelating to a specific event (e.g., delete inappropriate content orredundant messages). Additionally, the collection management system 204employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and contentrules to automatically curate a content collection. In certainembodiments, compensation may be paid to a user for inclusion of usergenerated content into a collection. In such cases, the curationinterface 208 operates to automatically make payments to such users forthe use of their content.

The annotation system 206 provides various functions that enable a userto annotate or otherwise modify or edit media content associated with amessage. For example, the annotation system 206 provides functionsrelated to the generation and publishing of media overlays for messagesprocessed by the messaging system 100. The annotation system 206operatively supplies a media overlay to the messaging client application104 based on a geolocation of the client device 102. In another example,the annotation system 206 operatively supplies a media overlay to themessaging client application 104 based on other information, such as,social network information of the user of the client device 102. A mediaoverlay may include audio and visual content and visual effects.Examples of audio and visual content include pictures, texts, logos,animations, and sound effects, as well as animated facial models, suchas those generated by the visitation tracking system 124. An example ofa visual effect includes color overlaying. The audio and visual contentor the visual effects can be applied to a media content item (e.g., aphoto) at the client device 102. For example, the media overlayincluding text that can be overlaid on top of a photograph generatedtaken by the client device 102. In another example, the media overlayincludes an identification of a location overlay (e.g., Venice beach), aname of a live event, or a name of a merchant overlay (e.g., BeachCoffee House). In another example, the annotation system 206 uses thegeolocation of the client device 102 to identify a media overlay thatincludes the name of a merchant at the geolocation of the client device102. The media overlay may include other indicia associated with themerchant. The media overlays may be stored in the database 120 andaccessed through the database server 118.

In one example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides auser-based publication platform that enables users to select ageolocation on a map, and upload content associated with the selectedgeolocation. The user may also specify circumstances under which aparticular media overlay should be offered to other users. Theannotation system 206 generates a media overlay that includes theuploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selectedgeolocation.

In another example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides amerchant-based publication platform that enables merchants to select aparticular media overlay associated with a geolocation via a biddingprocess. For example, the annotation system 206 associates the mediaoverlay of a highest bidding merchant with a corresponding geolocationfor a predefined amount of time

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating components of the visitationtracking system 124 that configure the visitation tracking system 124 toretrieve location data from a client device 102, identify a geo-cellfrom among a set of geo-cells based on the location data, rank mediacontent associated with the geo-cell within a database, and load mediacontent at the client device 102 based on the ranking, according tocertain example embodiments. The visitation tracking system 124 is shownas including a location module 302, a geo-cell module 304, a rankingmodule 306, and a communication module 308, all configured tocommunicate with each other (e.g., via a bus, shared memory, or aswitch). Any one or more of these modules may be implemented using oneor more processors 310 (e.g., by configuring such one or more processorsto perform functions described for that module) and hence include one ormore of the processors 310.

Any one or more of the modules described may be implemented usinghardware alone (e.g., one or more of the processors 310 of a machine) ora combination of hardware and software. For example, any moduledescribed of the visitation tracking system 124 may physically includean arrangement of one or more of the processors 310 (e.g., a subset ofor among the one or more processors of the machine) configured toperform the operations described herein for that module. As anotherexample, any module of the visitation tracking system 124 may includesoftware, hardware, or both, that configure an arrangement of one ormore processors 310 (e.g., among the one or more processors of themachine) to perform the operations described herein for that module.Accordingly, different modules of the visitation tracking system 124 mayinclude and configure different arrangements of such processors 310 or asingle arrangement of such processors 310 at different points in time.Moreover, any two or more modules of the visitation tracking system 124may be combined into a single module, and the functions described hereinfor a single module may be subdivided among multiple modules.Furthermore, according to various example embodiments, modules describedherein as being implemented within a single machine, database, or devicemay be distributed across multiple machines, databases, or devices.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 for selecting ageo-fence and loading media content at a client device, according tocertain example embodiments. Operations of the method 400 may beperformed by the modules described above with respect to FIG. 3. Asshown in FIG. 4, the method 400 includes one or more operations 402,404, 406, 408, and 410.

At operation 402, the location module 302 retrieves location data fromthe client device 102. The location data includes various types of datathat identifies a current location of a client device (e.g., the clientdevice 102) at any given time. For example, the location data mayinclude beacon data, GPS data, WiFi data, cell triangulation data, IPaddresses, as well as explicit user inputs that define a currentlocation of the client device 102 (e.g., a check-in).

In some embodiments, the location module 302 retrieves the location datafrom the most accurate available source. For example, in response todetermining that the client device 102 is connected to WiFi, thelocation module 302 retrieves WiFi based location data.

At operation 404, the geo-cell module 304 identifies a geo-cell fromamong a set of geo-cells based on the location data. For example, thegeo-cell (or one or more geo-cells) identified by the geo-cell module304 may comprise a location identified by the location data retrievedfrom the client device 102.

At operation 406, the geo-cell module 304 accesses a database (e.g., thedatabase 120) comprising location identifiers of one or more physicallocations within the geo-cell. The geo-cell may encompass a number oflocations (e.g., brick and mortar shops, retail locations), wherein eachof the locations are associated with media content within the database120.

At operation 408, the ranking module 306 ranks the locations identifiedby the location identifiers within the database 120 based on rankingcriteria. The ranking criteria includes user profile data associatedwith the client device 102, as well as location attributes associatedwith the geo-cell.

At operation 410, the communication module 308 loads a first mediaobject at the client device 102 based on a rank of a location associatedwith the first media within the database 120. For example, thecommunication module 308 may provide the client device 102 with accessto the first media content, such that the first media content may beviewed or distributed by the client device 102.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method 500 for selecting a geo-cellfrom among a set of geo-cells, according to certain example embodiments.Operations of the method 500 may be performed by the modules describedabove with respect to FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 5, the method 500includes one or more operations 502, 504, 506, and 508 that may beperformed as a part of (e.g., a subroutine of) one or more of theoperations of the method 400, as seen in FIG. 4.

At operation 502, the location module 302 retrieves the location datafrom the client device 102. In response to retrieving the location datafrom the client device 102, at operation 504 the location module 302assigns a time-stamp to the location data, wherein the time-stampindicates a time in which the location data was retrieved from theclient device 102. The location module 302 may store the time-stampedlocation data at a memory location in the database 120, wherein thememory location comprises a set of time-stamped location data.

At operation 506 the location module 302 calculates a period of time (aduration) that the client device 102 was at a location identified by thelocation data, based on the time-stamp. For example, the location module302 may determine the duration by retrieving a set of time-stampedlocation data, and differencing the time-stamps of the location data todetermine the duration.

At operation 508, the location module 302 selects the geo-cell fromamong the set of geo-cells based on the duration. For example, theduration associated with the geo-cell may indicate that the clientdevice 102 was located within the geo-cell for the longest period oftime.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method 600 for loading mediacontent at a client device, according to certain example embodiments.Operations of the method 600 may be performed by the modules describedabove with respect to FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 6, the method 600includes one or more operations 602, 604, and 606 that may be performedas a part of (e.g., a subroutine of) one or more of the operations ofthe method 400, as seen in FIG. 4.

At operation 602, the communication module 308 retrieves user profiledata associated with the client device 102 in response to identifyingthe geo-cell (as in operation 404 of the method 400). The user profiledata may comprise user attributes that define user affinities of a userassociated with the client device 102, as well as historical locationdata that identifies locations visited by the user and other usersassociated to the user profile of the user.

At operation 604, the ranking module 306 ranks the locations associatedwith the geo-cell within the database 120 based on the user profiledata. Each location among the set of locations associated with thegeo-cell includes location attributes (e.g., a location type, businesshours, a popularity, user density, etc.). The ranking module 306 ranksthe locations based on the location attributes and the user profile datato identify a location of interest within the geo-cell.

In some embodiments, the ranking module 306 calculates a visitationprobability of each location among the locations associated with thegeo-cell. The visitation probability may be based on criteria thatinclude the location attributes and the user profile data. The rankingmodule 306 may generate a numerical value for each location based on theprobability, and rank the locations based on the numerical value.

In some example embodiments, the ranking module 306 ranks the locationbased on a user density associated with each location. The user densitymay be calculated based on a number of users that identify a locationfrom among the set of locations within the geo-cell as a location ofinterest. The user density may be based on user check-in data (e.g., auser explicitly provides a user input identifying the location), as wellas a number of requests from users to access media content associatedwith the location. For example, each location may be associated withmedia content that is only available to users located within a geo-cell.The visitation tracking system 124 may generate a user density of eachlocation based on a number of requests to view or otherwise access themedia content associated with a particular location.

At operation 606, the communication module 308 loads a first mediaobject at the client device 102 based on a rank of a location associatedwith the first media object. For example, the first media object may beassociated with the highest ranked location within the geo-cell, basedon the user profile data and location attributes.

FIG. 7 is an illustration 700 of location data 702 retrieved from aclient device 102, according to certain example embodiments. As seen inFIG. 7, the location data 702 is presented within a map image 704,wherein the map image 704 depicts a particular geographic area. Thelocation data 702 may be retrieved from the client device 102 based onthe methods 400, 500, and 600 discussed in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

In some embodiments, the visitation tracking system 124 may generate andcause display of an interface that include a presentation of the mapimage 704, wherein the map image 704 includes a display of the locationdata 702. For example, the location data 702 may be displayed within themap image 704 based on one or more data attributes of the location data,such as the data type (e.g., WiFi, Cell Triangulation). In suchembodiments, the accuracy of the location data 702 may be indicatedbased on a size and shape of the display of the location data. Forexample, a smaller icon within the map image 704 may indicate a higherlevel of accuracy than a larger display of the location data 702.

In further embodiments, elements of the display of the location data 702may be based on the duration described in relation to the method 500 ofFIG. 5. For example, a longer period of time at a particular locationmay be indicated by a larger icon, whereas a shorter duration may beindicated by a smaller icon.

FIG. 8 is an illustration 800 of a set of geo-cells 802 that includes ageo-cell 804, according to certain example embodiments. As seen in FIG.8, each geo-cell among the set of geo-cells encompasses a portion of ageographic region depicted by a map image (e.g., the map image 704).

Each geo-cell encompasses one or more physical locations (e.g.,businesses) located within the portion of the geographic region depictedby the map image. In some embodiments, an action is triggered upondetecting a client device 102 within the geo-cell, based on the locationdata from the client device 102. For example, the action may includedistributing certain media content associated with the geo-cell to theclient device 102 via an ephemeral message.

As discussed in the method 500 of FIG. 5, the visitation tracking system124 may select a geo-cell (e.g., geo-cell 804) from among the set ofgeo-cells based on the location data retrieved from the client device102, as well as based on attributes of the location data such as atime-stamp. For example, the visitation tracking system 124 may selectthe geo-cell 804, due to the geo-cell 804 corresponding to the longestduration, or most recent time-stamp from the client device 102.

FIG. 9 is an illustration 900 of a ranking of locations associated witha geo-cell 902 from among the set of geo-cells 802, according to certainexample embodiments. In some embodiments, the ranking may be based on aprobability. For example, as explained in the method 600 of FIG. 6, theranking module 306 may rank each of the locations associated with thegeo-cell 902 based on various ranking criteria. To rank the locations,the ranking module 306 may calculate a probability that a user is ateach of the locations based on the criteria, and may assign a numericalvalue based on the probability to each location. The ranking module 306may thus ranks the locations based on the numerical values.

As seen in FIG. 9, the geo-cell 902 encompasses a portion of ageographic region that includes the locations, wherein each location isassociated with media content within the database 120. As discussed inthe method 400 of FIG. 4, the visitation tracking system ranks eachphysical location from among the set of physical locations based onranking criteria (e.g., user profile data associated with the clientdevice 102). The visitation tracking system 124 may retrieve mediacontent associated with the highest ranking location and load the mediacontent at the client device 102.

For example, as seen in the illustration 900 of the geo-fence 902 inFIG. 9, while the system has determined that a user is within thegeo-fence 902, the system must still determine which exactly within thegeo-fence 902 the user is. The geo-fence 902 is depicted as including aset of locations identified by location identifiers (e.g., locationidentifier 908). The ranking module calculates a probability of a userbeing at each of the locations within the geo-fence 902 based on thecriteria discussed above, and generates a numerical value (e.g., thescore 906) based on the probability, to assign to each location amongthe locations within the geo-fence 902. As seen in the illustration 900,the user has a 75% probability of being at the “Museum of Ice cream,” a15% probability of being at “Base Coal Nail Salon,” and only a 5%probability of being at “La Reyna Tacos,” or “EA Office.” Based on thesevalues, the ranking module 306 ranks and select a location from amongthe locations within the geo-fence 902.

The ranking of the locations is based on user profile data associatedwith the client device 102, as well as location attributes of eachlocation located within the geo-cell 902. The location attributes mayfor example include business hours of the location, user density withinthe location, visits to the location over a period of time, past visitsof a user associated with the client device to the location, as well asa rating associated with the location.

In some embodiments, the visitation tracking system 124 may generate andcause display of the illustration 900 at a client device, wherein theillustration 900 comprises a presentation of an identification of alocation (e.g., identifier 908) along with a depiction of acorresponding ranking. For example, the presentation of the ranking mayinclude a display of scores associated with each location among thelocations (e.g., score 906), as well as a visual indication of one ormore of the location attributes of each location, such as a popularityof the location based on a the display of graphical icons 904.

Software Architecture

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example software architecture1006, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described. FIG. 10 is a non-limiting example of asoftware architecture and it will be appreciated that many otherarchitectures may be implemented to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. The software architecture 1006 may execute on hardwaresuch as machine 1100 of FIG. 11 that includes, among other things,processors 1104, memory 1114, and I/O components 1118. A representativehardware layer 1052 is illustrated and can represent, for example, themachine 1000 of FIG. 10. The representative hardware layer 1052 includesa processing unit 1054 having associated executable instructions 1004.Executable instructions 1004 represent the executable instructions ofthe software architecture 1006, including implementation of the methods,components and so forth described herein. The hardware layer 1052 alsoincludes memory and/or storage modules memory/storage 1056, which alsohave executable instructions 1004. The hardware layer 1052 may alsocomprise other hardware 1058.

In the example architecture of FIG. 10, the software architecture 1006may be conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer providesparticular functionality. For example, the software architecture 1006may include layers such as an operating system 1002, libraries 1020,applications 1016 and a presentation layer 1014. Operationally, theapplications 1016 and/or other components within the layers may invokeapplication programming interface (API) API calls 1008 through thesoftware stack and receive a response as in response to the API calls1008. The layers illustrated are representative in nature and not allsoftware architectures have all layers. For example, some mobile orspecial purpose operating systems may not provide aframeworks/middleware 1018, while others may provide such a layer. Othersoftware architectures may include additional or different layers.

The operating system 1002 may manage hardware resources and providecommon services. The operating system 1002 may include, for example, akernel 1022, services 1024 and drivers 1026. The kernel 1022 may act asan abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 1022 may be responsible for memory management,processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management,networking, security settings, and so on. The services 1024 may provideother common services for the other software layers. The drivers 1026are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlyinghardware. For instance, the drivers 1026 include display drivers, cameradrivers, Bluetooth® drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communicationdrivers (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), Wi-Fi® drivers,audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth depending on thehardware configuration.

The libraries 1020 provide a common infrastructure that is used by theapplications 1016 and/or other components and/or layers. The libraries1020 provide functionality that allows other software components toperform tasks in an easier fashion than to interface directly with theunderlying operating system 1002 functionality (e.g., kernel 1022,services 1024 and/or drivers 1026). The libraries 1020 may includesystem libraries 1044 (e.g., C standard library) that may providefunctions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulationfunctions, mathematical functions, and the like. In addition, thelibraries 1020 may include API libraries 1046 such as media libraries(e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of variousmedia format such as MPREG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG), graphicslibraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework that may be used to render 2D and3D in a graphic content on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLitethat may provide various relational database functions), web libraries(e.g., WebKit that may provide web browsing functionality), and thelike. The libraries 1020 may also include a wide variety of otherlibraries 1048 to provide many other APIs to the applications 1016 andother software components/modules.

The frameworks/middleware 1018 (also sometimes referred to asmiddleware) provide a higher-level common infrastructure that may beused by the applications 1016 and/or other software components/modules.For example, the frameworks/middleware 1018 may provide various graphicuser interface (GUI) functions, high-level resource management,high-level location services, and so forth. The frameworks/middleware1018 may provide a broad spectrum of other APIs that may be utilized bythe applications 1016 and/or other software components/modules, some ofwhich may be specific to a particular operating system 1002 or platform.

The applications 1016 include built-in applications 1038 and/orthird-party applications 1040. Examples of representative built-inapplications 1038 may include, but are not limited to, a contactsapplication, a browser application, a book reader application, alocation application, a media application, a messaging application,and/or a game application. Third-party applications 1040 may include anapplication developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software developmentkit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform,and may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such asIOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. Thethird-party applications 1040 may invoke the API calls 1008 provided bythe mobile operating system (such as operating system 1002) tofacilitate functionality described herein.

The applications 1016 may use built in operating system functions (e.g.,kernel 1022, services 1024 and/or drivers 1026), libraries 1020, andframeworks/middleware 1018 to create user interfaces to interact withusers of the system. Alternatively, or additionally, in some systemsinteractions with a user may occur through a presentation layer, such aspresentation layer 1014. In these systems, the application/component“logic” can be separated from the aspects of the application/componentthat interact with a user.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 1100,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Specifically, FIG. 11 shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine1100 in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions1110 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, orother executable code) for causing the machine 1100 to perform any oneor more of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. As such,the instructions 1110 may be used to implement modules or componentsdescribed herein. The instructions 1110 transform the general,non-programmed machine 1100 into a particular machine 1100 programmed tocarry out the described and illustrated functions in the mannerdescribed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 1100 operates as astandalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines.In a networked deployment, the machine 1100 may operate in the capacityof a server machine or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine 1100 may comprise, but not be limitedto, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), atablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, acellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device(e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance),other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a networkswitch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing theinstructions 1110, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to betaken by machine 1100. Further, while only a single machine 1100 isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include acollection of machines that individually or jointly execute theinstructions 1110 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

The machine 1100 may include processors 1104, memory memory/storage1106, and I/O components 1118, which may be configured to communicatewith each other such as via a bus 1102. The memory/storage 1106 mayinclude a memory 1114, such as a main memory, or other memory storage,and a storage unit 1116, both accessible to the processors 1104 such asvia the bus 1102. The storage unit 1116 and memory 1114 store theinstructions 1110 embodying any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein. The instructions 1110 may also reside,completely or partially, within the memory 1114, within the storage unit1116, within at least one of the processors 1104 (e.g., within theprocessor's cache memory), or any suitable combination thereof, duringexecution thereof by the machine 1100. Accordingly, the memory 1114, thestorage unit 1116, and the memory of processors 1104 are examples ofmachine-readable media.

The I/O components 1118 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 1118 that are included in a particular machine 1100 willdepend on the type of machine. For example, portable machines such asmobile phones will likely include a touch input device or other suchinput mechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely notinclude such a touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/Ocomponents 1118 may include many other components that are not shown inFIG. 11. The I/O components 1118 are grouped according to functionalitymerely for simplifying the following discussion and the grouping is inno way limiting. In various example embodiments, the I/O components 1118may include output components 1126 and input components 1128. The outputcomponents 1126 may include visual components (e.g., a display such as aplasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)),acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., avibratory motor, resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and soforth. The input components 1128 may include alphanumeric inputcomponents (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receivealphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumericinput components), point based input components (e.g., a mouse, atouchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointinginstrument), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touchscreen that provides location and/or force of touches or touch gestures,or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., amicrophone), and the like.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 1118 may includebiometric components 1130, motion components 1134, environmentalenvironment components 1136, or position components 1138 among a widearray of other components. For example, the biometric components 1130may include components to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions,facial expressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking),measure biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 1134 may includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environment components 1136 may include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometer that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gasdetection sensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases forsafety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other componentsthat may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding toa surrounding physical environment. The position components 1138 mayinclude location sensor components (e.g., a Global Position system (GPS)receiver component), altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters orbarometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived),orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1118 may include communication components 1140operable to couple the machine 1100 to a network 1132 or devices 1120via coupling 1122 and coupling 1124 respectively. For example, thecommunication components 1140 may include a network interface componentor other suitable device to interface with the network 1132. In furtherexamples, communication components 1140 may include wired communicationcomponents, wireless communication components, cellular communicationcomponents, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth®components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and othercommunication components to provide communication via other modalities.The devices 1120 may be another machine or any of a wide variety ofperipheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a UniversalSerial Bus (USB)).

Moreover, the communication components 1140 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 1140 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components1140, such as, location via Internet Protocol (IP) geo-location,location via Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting a NFCbeacon signal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

GLOSSARY

“CARRIER SIGNAL” in this context refers to any intangible medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine, and includes digital or analog communications signals orother intangible medium to facilitate communication of suchinstructions. Instructions may be transmitted or received over thenetwork using a transmission medium via a network interface device andusing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols.

“CLIENT DEVICE” in this context refers to any machine that interfaces toa communications network to obtain resources from one or more serversystems or other client devices. A client device may be, but is notlimited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digitalassistants (PDAs), smart phones, tablets, ultra books, netbooks,laptops, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, game consoles, set-top boxes, or any othercommunication device that a user may use to access a network.

“COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK” in this context refers to one or more portionsof a network that may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, avirtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wirelessLAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), ametropolitan area network (MAN), the Internet, a portion of theInternet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), aplain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellular telephonenetwork, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi® network, another type of network,or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, a network ora portion of a network may include a wireless or cellular network andthe coupling may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) connection, aGlobal System for Mobile communications (GSM) connection, or other typeof cellular or wireless coupling. In this example, the coupling mayimplement any of a variety of types of data transfer technology, such asSingle Carrier Radio Transmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-DataOptimized (EVDO) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology,third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourthgeneration wireless (4G) networks, Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE)standard, others defined by various standard setting organizations,other long range protocols, or other data transfer technology.

“EMPHEMERAL MESSAGE” in this context refers to a message that isaccessible for a time-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be atext, an image, a video and the like. The access time for the ephemeralmessage may be set by the message sender. Alternatively, the access timemay be a default setting or a setting specified by the recipient.Regardless of the setting technique, the message is transitory.

“MACHINE-READABLE MEDIUM” in this context refers to a component, deviceor other tangible media able to store instructions and data temporarilyor permanently and may include, but is not be limited to, random-accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory,optical media, magnetic media, cache memory, other types of storage(e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and/or anysuitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium” shouldbe taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers)able to store instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shallalso be taken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media,that is capable of storing instructions (e.g., code) for execution by amachine, such that the instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors of the machine, cause the machine to perform any one or moreof the methodologies described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readablemedium” refers to a single storage apparatus or device, as well as“cloud-based” storage systems or storage networks that include multiplestorage apparatus or devices. The term “machine-readable medium”excludes signals per se.

“COMPONENT” in this context refers to a device, physical entity or logichaving boundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branchpoints, application program interfaces (APIs), or other technologiesthat provide for the partitioning or modularization of particularprocessing or control functions. Components may be combined via theirinterfaces with other components to carry out a machine process. Acomponent may be a packaged functional hardware unit designed for usewith other components and a part of a program that usually performs aparticular function of related functions. Components may constituteeither software components (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readablemedium) or hardware components. A “hardware component” is a tangibleunit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured orarranged in a certain physical manner. In various example embodiments,one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computer system, aclient computer system, or a server computer system) or one or morehardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a groupof processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware component that operates to performcertain operations as described herein. A hardware component may also beimplemented mechanically, electronically, or any suitable combinationthereof. For example, a hardware component may include dedicatedcircuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certainoperations. A hardware component may be a special-purpose processor,such as a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may alsoinclude programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configuredby software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwarecomponent may include software executed by a general-purpose processoror other programmable processor. Once configured by such software,hardware components become specific machines (or specific components ofa machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and areno longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that thedecision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations. Accordingly, the phrase “hardware component” (or“hardware-implemented component”) should be understood to encompass atangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed,permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured(e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certainoperations described herein. Considering embodiments in which hardwarecomponents are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of thehardware components need not be configured or instantiated at any oneinstance in time. For example, where a hardware component comprises ageneral-purpose processor configured by software to become aspecial-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware components) at different times. Softwareaccordingly configures a particular processor or processors, forexample, to constitute a particular hardware component at one instanceof time and to constitute a different hardware component at a differentinstance of time. Hardware components can provide information to, andreceive information from, other hardware components. Accordingly, thedescribed hardware components may be regarded as being communicativelycoupled. Where multiple hardware components exist contemporaneously,communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., overappropriate circuits and buses) between or among two or more of thehardware components. In embodiments in which multiple hardwarecomponents are configured or instantiated at different times,communications between such hardware components may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware components have access. Forexample, one hardware component may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware component may then, at alater time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware components may also initiate communications with inputor output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation). The various operations of example methods described hereinmay be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implementedcomponents that operate to perform one or more operations or functionsdescribed herein. As used herein, “processor-implemented component”refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors.Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented components. Moreover, the one or more processorsmay also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a“cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS).For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a groupof computers (as examples of machines including processors), with theseoperations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and viaone or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an Application ProgramInterface (API)). The performance of certain of the operations may bedistributed among the processors, not only residing within a singlemachine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some exampleembodiments, the processors or processor-implemented components may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the processors or processor-implemented components may bedistributed across a number of geographic locations.

“PROCESSOR” in this context refers to any circuit or virtual circuit (aphysical circuit emulated by logic executing on an actual processor)that manipulates data values according to control signals (e.g.,“commands”, “op codes”, “machine code”, etc.) and which producescorresponding output signals that are applied to operate a machine. Aprocessor may, for example, be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), aReduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a ComplexInstruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit(GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC)or any combination thereof. A processor may further be a multi-coreprocessor having two or more independent processors (sometimes referredto as “cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously.

“TIMESTAMP” in this context refers to a sequence of characters orencoded information identifying when a certain event occurred, forexample giving date and time of day, sometimes accurate to a smallfraction of a second.

“LIFT” in this context is a measure of the performance of a targetedmodel at predicting or classifying cases as having an enhanced response(with respect to a population as a whole), measured against a randomchoice targeting model.

“PHONEME ALIGNMENT” in this context, a phoneme is a unit of speech thatdifferentiates one word from another. One phoneme may consist of asequence of closure, burst, and aspiration events; or, a dipthong maytransition from a back vowel to a front vowel. A speech signal maytherefore be described not only by what phonemes it contains, but alsothe locations of the phonemes. Phoneme alignment may therefore bedescribed as a “time-alignment” of phonemes in a waveform, in order todetermine an appropriate sequence and location of each phoneme in aspeech signal.

“AUDIO-TO-VISUAL CONVERSION” in this context refers to the conversion ofaudible speech signals into visible speech, wherein the visible speechmay include a mouth shape representative of the audible speech signal.

“TIME DELAYED NEURAL NETWORK (TDNN)” in this context, a TDNN is anartificial neural network architecture whose primary purpose is to workon sequential data. An example would be converting continuous audio intoa stream of classified phoneme labels for speech recognition.

“BI-DIRECTIONAL LONG-SHORT TERM MEMORY (BLSTM)” in this context refersto a recurrent neural network (RNN) architecture that remembers valuesover arbitrary intervals. Stored values are not modified as learningproceeds. RNNs allow forward and backward connections between neurons.BLSTM are well-suited for the classification, processing, and predictionof time series, given time lags of unknown size and duration betweenevents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: accessing location data froma client device, the location data identifying one or more physicallocations of the client device; identifying a set of geo-cells based onthe location data, the set of geo-cells encompassing a set of locations,each location among the set of locations associated with a correspondingmedia object; accessing user profile data associated with the clientdevice in response to the identifying the set of geo-cells; ranking eachlocation among the set of locations based on the user profile and thecorresponding media object associated with each location from among theset of locations; and selecting a first geo-cell from among the set ofgeo-cells based on a rank of the corresponding media object associatedwith a location encompassed by the first geo-cell among the set oflocations.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user profile dataincludes user affinity data.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein themethod further comprises: receiving a request from the client device;and accessing the location data from the client device in response tothe receiving the request from the client device.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the method further comprises: accessing media contentassociated with the first geo-cell responsive to the selecting the firstgeo-cell; and loading the media content associated with the firstgeo-cell at the client device.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein themethod further comprises: causing display of a notification at theclient device in response to the loading the media content associatedwith the first geo-cell at the client device, the notification includingan identification of the media content.
 6. The method of claim 4,wherein the loading the media content associated with the first geo-cellat the client device includes: presenting an ephemeral message thatincludes a presentation of the media content at the client device. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein the media content includes a mediaoverlay.
 8. A system comprising: a memory; and at least one hardwareprocessor coupled to the memory and comprising instructions that causesthe system to perform operations comprising: accessing location datafrom a client device, the location data identifying one or more physicallocations of the client device; identifying a set of geo-cells based onthe location data, the set of geo-cells encompassing a set of locations,each location among the set of locations associated with a correspondingmedia object; accessing user profile data associated with the clientdevice in response to the identifying the set of geo-cells; ranking eachlocation among the set of locations based on the user profile and thecorresponding media object associated with each location from among theset of locations; and selecting a first geo-cell from among the set ofgeo-cells based on a rank of the corresponding media object associatedwith a location encompassed by the first geo-cell among the set oflocations.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the user profile dataincludes user affinity data.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein theoperations further comprise: receiving a request from the client device;and accessing the location data from the client device in response tothe receiving the request from the client device.
 11. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: accessing mediacontent associated with the first geo-cell responsive to the selectingthe first geo-cell; and loading the media content associated with thefirst geo-cell at the client device.
 12. The system of claim 11, whereinthe operations further comprise: causing display of a notification atthe client device in response to the loading the media contentassociated with the first geo-cell at the client device, thenotification including an identification of the media content.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the loading the media content associatedwith the first geo-cell at the client device includes: presenting anephemeral message that includes a presentation of the media content atthe client device.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein the media contentincludes a media overlay.
 15. A non-transitory machine-readable storagemedium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or moreprocessors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operationsincluding: accessing location data from a client device, the locationdata identifying one or more physical locations of the client device;identifying a set of geo-cells based on the location data, the set ofgeo-cells encompassing a set of locations, each location among the setof locations associated with a corresponding media object; accessinguser profile data associated with the client device in response to theidentifying the set of geo-cells; ranking each location among the set oflocations based on the user profile and the corresponding media objectassociated with each location from among the set of locations; andselecting a first geo-cell from among the set of geo-cells based on arank of the corresponding media object associated with a locationencompassed by the first geo-cell among the set of locations.
 16. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein theuser profile data includes user affinity data.
 17. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: receiving a request from the client device; andaccessing the location data from the client device in response to thereceiving the request from the client device.
 18. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operationsfurther comprises: accessing media content associated with the firstgeo-cell responsive to the selecting the first geo-cell; and loading themedia content associated with the first geo-cell at the client device.19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 18,wherein the operations further comprise: causing display of anotification at the client device in response to the loading the mediacontent associated with the first geo-cell at the client device, thenotification including an identification of the media content.
 20. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein theloading the media content associated with the first geo-cell at theclient device includes: presenting an ephemeral message that includes apresentation of the media content at the client device.